University of Lethbridge
Faculty of Management
Management 3220Y
Marketing Research Project Guidelines
Objective
The primary objective of this project is to gain experience using the basic methods of
market research by applying them to a real-life, business management decision situation.
Project description
Students will work in teams of three to five to complete a market research project for a local
business or organization. Teams will be formed the second week of class and some time will
be given in class most weeks to work on the project. The project involves contacting a local
business or organization and defining the research problem, designing the project, collecting
primary and secondary data, analyzing the data, and writing a comprehensive research report.
Given that the information provided both by the business and generated through the report
should remain confidential, a presentation to the class is not required.
Businesses that work best for this project tend to be small business to consumer
enterprises rather than those involved in business to business. It is easier too if the target
market is well defined and readily accessible.
Because this project constitutes a large percentage of the grade for this course (i.e. 50%), and
because it is not the sort of project that can be left until the last two weeks of the semester it
must be completed in three phases. It is also crucial that the team develop a time line for
completion of phases.
Phase One: Research Objectives and Design (15% of the final grade)
It has been said that “a problem well defined is half-solved.” Thus phase one is perhaps the
most crucial since it will guide the rest of the research project. In this phase you must define
the problem clearly and state the objectives precisely. Defining the problem can be one of the
most difficult parts of the research. A problem defined incorrectly can lead to incorrect
research objectives, information of little value and ultimately a poor decision. Not only is it
important for the right problem to be identified, but also the definition should be specific.
This phase involves contacting a local business or organization to understand the nature and
context of the business problem and to agree with them on what will be done, and whether
there are any particular people to be included or excluded in the research. The organization
will need to provide relevant background information on the problem as well as the
company's knowledge and understanding of the market at the moment. See the section below
on expectations for information on what they, and you, should expect from the relationship
In this phase you must also specify the information needed to solve the problem and the
methods and procedures for acquiring that information, i.e. the research design. Research
designs may be identified as exploratory, descriptive and causal.
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Exploratory research is used to gain ideas and insights to help define the problem and suggest
hypotheses. It is particularly helpful in breaking broad, vague problem statements into
smaller, more precise statements. Typically, it involves colleting secondary data,
interviewing experts, pilot surveys, and qualitative research such as focus groups, interviews
and observation.
Descriptive research, in contrast, is concerned with describing the characteristics of certain
groups, to estimate the proportion of people who hold particular attitudes or who behave in a
certain way, or to make predictions. Usually conducted after exploratory research, it is
marked by well-formulated hypotheses, and usually involves a pre-planned structured design
and the collection of data through surveys. Descriptive information is often useful for
predictive purposes, but the causes (reasons why) of what is being predicted improves
understanding.
Causal research tests relationships of causal factors to the effects predicted. “Does X cause
Y?” For example, does a lower price cause an increase in sales? Causal research often
involves experiments, and is not a requirement for this project.
Completion of Phase One involves writing a short (maximum 7 pages) research proposal
and should provide the following:
1. A brief background to the business or management decision problem. Most
marketing research is done because information is needed to help make a decision
or identify an opportunity. Often, the organization is at a crossroads where a
decision to act or not to act, or to act one way rather than another, needs to be
made. What is required at this stage is a brief (no more than one page) outline of
the immediate circumstances that has led the organization to this decision
crossroad. It should not be a history of the organization – they already know the
history. This should be your understanding of the issue.
2. A concise statement of the management decision the organization faces. (No more
than two sentences). This should be in the form of “what should we do”.
3. A discussion of alternative courses of action the organization could take. A
restaurant facing static patronage could, for example, decide to offer specials,
change the menu, change the décor, or increase advertising. Or, it could decide
that these changes will reduce profits and decide to do nothing. What to do
requires information on why patronage is static. Discussing alternative choices
will help you to understand the nature of the problem and the information
required. In this example, for instance, you would want to know if it is the high
prices, limited menu, location, or perhaps because people are unaware of the
restaurant. (No more than ½ a page)
4. A statement of the overall research objective. What sort of information, in
general, is required to help make the management decision? No more than two
sentences.
5. A list of subsidiary objectives, i.e. additional information that is required. (no
more than ½ a page). Each of these objectives should have a corresponding
hypothesis (see below) as well as a survey question(s) that elicits the information.
For instance, one subsidiary objective might be to discover whether the
introduction of a new type of dart game will increase patronage (or sales, or both)
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6.
7.
8.
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at the local pub. Your hypothesis is either yes it will or no it won’t. You also have
to ask questions relating to the hypotheses on your survey.
A discussion of hypotheses about the information you will gather. For example,
one hypothesis might be that the restaurant’s static patronage is because the menu
is too limited. General knowledge about human nature, the market in general,
consumer trends, and the specific circumstances will help in generating these
hypotheses (No more than ½ a page).
A general discussion of how you propose to gather the necessary information, and
in what order. For example, do you plan to conduct secondary market research on
market trends, and then hold a focus group or in-depth interviews? Do you plan to
conduct a survey, and if so how many people do you plan on surveying, and
where and when; do you plan to pre-test the survey. Basically, what do you
propose to do? (No more than one page)
A schedule or time line with deadlines for the phases of the project and the
various tasks that need to be done, and who will be responsible for them. (no
more than ½ a page)
A budget. The purpose here is to give you some idea of the actual costs of doing a
research project. Give yourselves a reasonable hourly wage (check industry
standards); estimate the number of hours you will work on the project. Add in any
other anticipated expenses, e.g. printing, etc. Since you don’t have an office to
maintain you don’t have to add in any general overhead expenses, or profit
margin. Keep track of the actual number of hours each of you spend on the
project and compare this with your estimate. Include this as an appendix in phase
III. (no more than ½ a page)
Summary of Phase One
 Clearly define the marketing problem/opportunity through discussion with the
business decision maker
 State the research objectives giving a clear idea of the single overall objective
 Background to the market
 Specify the information needed to solve the problem
 Outline the research steps to be taken
 Develop a project plan and budget
 Deliverable is a short (maximum 7 pages) research proposal.
General information needs for phase one
1. Background to the business management problem
2. the business management problem
3. Marketing research problem/objective
4. Research objectives (a numbered list)
5. Hypotheses corresponding to #4 (a numbered list)
6. How you intend to get the information (secondary, primary sources)
7. Who you intend to get the information from.
8. Project plan and budget
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The phase one document should be looked upon as a working document that will change
as a greater understanding of the problem is achieved and more information acquired.
Phase Two: Detailed Data Collection Plan
By the time phase two is due all secondary research such as reviews of the literature,
published results of similar research, demographic information etc., as well any
exploratory research, such as interviews or focus groups, should have been completed.
Phase two, which is worth 10% of the final grade, involves a summary of the results of
this research as well as the development of a questionnaire and sampling plan. The nature
of the research objectives and information needed, along with the nature of the target
population will determine who you select to gather the information from, how you select
them, and what sort of information you will collect. This section should therefore explain
the sample, instruments, and procedures used, and the data collected. The questionnaire
should be pre-tested before it submitted or administered to the target sample. Time will
be provided in class for this. Feedback from the class will help to fine tune it. This
section should be 5-7 pages long and should also include a revision of the phase one
proposal based on feedback received and any changes in the plan that may have occurred.
It should also contain a coding sheet.
Summary of Phase Two
 Summary of any exploratory or secondary research
 Identify the target population
 Determine the sampling frame
 Select the sampling procedure
 Include a moderator’s guide, and in-depth interview questions if applicable.
 Questionnaire
 Coding sheet
Phase Three: Analysis and Report (25% of the final grade)
After completing Phase II you should be ready to collect, process, analyze and interpret
the data, and write the final report. The deliverable for phase three is a comprehensive
report based on the sum of the research and analysis. This section should be 10-15 pages
long. The total project should not exceed 30 pages double-spaced, excluding any
appendices (e.g. copies of questionnaires used, computer output etc.). Again, it should
include revisions based on feedback of phases one and two. Don’t forget to change the
future tense to the past tense.
With regards to the analysis, begin by looking at the data. Create frequency tables and
pie charts using SPSS to make it easily understandable. What questions can be asked of
your data? What information can be gleaned from it by manipulating it? Look for
associations. Do any of the variables need to be transformed? If you ask demographic
questions on your survey such as age, gender, or income, then you must have hypotheses
about how they relate to other variables. For example, do different age categories,
genders or income levels differ in their preferences for a particular style of furniture? If
so what are they and are they statistically significant.
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Remember, the report, although it will be graded, is really for the organization it is done
for and must therefore be readable. This means it must not be filled with marketing
research jargon and the statistical information must be condensed and easily
understandable.
The most valuable aspect of the report for the organization will be your results. Instead of
just summarizing them, the report should present the results in such a way that they can
be used directly as input into decision-making. Wherever appropriate, conclusions
should be drawn and recommendations that management can act upon should be made.
Recommendations should be based on your understanding and analysis of the situation
and the data collected. The report for management should emphasize the strategic aspects
of the research project rather than the operating details. In other words, stress what you
discovered and its strategic implications — not what you did.
The final report must also have a cover letter. The cover letter should provide details of
the enclosed research report, who is responsible for the report, and who is receiving
copies. You should also thank them for allowing you to do the work and indicate that you
are happy to answer any questions arising from it. The company needs to sign-off on the
final report so you should also ask them to sign the letter or the report to indicate that
they have received a copy. A suggested format for the report is presented below.
Expectations
The research team will have to meet with the decision maker(s) initially to get agreement
in principle to proceed with the project, to help you understand the marketing
management decision problem, and to help you to define the market research project.
They should also be expected to provide you with background information on the
company and industry, recommend industry experts or other people you could talk to,
and also possibly provide you with internal secondary data, (or access to it) such as sales
reports, accounting records, operation reports etc. that may help to understand the
problem and/or design the research problem. It is not unreasonable for them therefore to
require the team members to sign a non-disclosure form. You should let them know that
there is no requirement to present the results to the class but that the instructor will read
and mark the report. If required I am happy to sign a non-disclosure agreement as well.
The decision maker(s) should expect to meet with you at least three times for about two
hours each time. The first time will be to enable you to explore and understand the
management decision that needs to be made. The second time will be to discuss your
plan of action, and third time to present the report. Although not a requirement for this
course, it is also not unreasonable for the organization to ask you to make a presentation
to them.
Time will be provided in class on a regular basis to work on the project and discuss it
with me and other class members. As group work can often be challenging, each person
will have an opportunity to evaluate the work and contribution of fellow group members.
A form for this purpose is included at the end of these guidelines
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Evaluation
Phase One
20 marks
Background leading to the business management problem
20 marks
Statement of management decision faced
20 marks
Statement of research problem/objective
30 marks
Research objectives
30 marks
Hypotheses
20 marks
Research plan
10 marks
timeline, budget.
150 marks = 15%
Phase Two
20 marks
Summary of any exploratory or secondary research
20 marks
Sampling frame and procedures
50 marks
Questionnaire suitability, design, structure, accuracy
10 marks
Coding sheet.
100 marks = 10%
Phase Three
10 marks
Cover letter
40 marks
Executive Summary
50 marks
Spelling, punctuation, and grammar
100 marks
Analysis and Results
50 marks
Conclusions, Limitations, Recommendations
250 marks = 25%
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Sample Report
Table of Contents
Cover letter
Executive Summary
 Define the Problem concisely
 Describe approach briefly
 Major findings
 Conclusions
 Recommendations
Problem definition
 Background to the problem
 Secondary data summarized
 Statement of the problem
Approach to the problem
 Broad approach taken to the problem
 Theoretical foundations
 Research questions and hypotheses
Research design
 Details of how the research was conducted
 Information needs
 Data collection and secondary sources
 Data collection from primary sources
 Scaling techniques
 Questionnaire development and pre-testing
 Sampling techniques
Data analysis
 Methods used
Results
 Presented at aggregate level
 Also at market segment, geographic etc level.
 Geared to problem
 And to information needs
 Presented in tables and graphs
 Main findings discussed in text
Limitations and Caveats
 Due to time, budget etc.
 Limitations due to error types (e.g. sampling non-sampling)
 How far can results be taken
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Conclusions and Recommendations
 In light of problem being addressed
 Based on the results and conclusions the researcher may make recommendations
to the decision makers.
Exhibits/Appendices
 Questionnaires
 Statistical output
 Budget
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PEER EVALUATION FORM
Yourself:____________________
Performance Criteria
Excellent
Good
Average Poor Unacceptable
Attendance
5
4
3
2
1
Contribution
5
4
3
2
1
Task Completion
5
4
3
2
1
Attitude
5
4
3
2
1
Quality of work
5
4
3
2
1
Total Score
/25
Comments______________________________________________________________
Team Member #1____________________
Performance Criteria
Excellent
Good
Average Poor Unacceptable
Attendance
5
4
3
2
1
Contribution
5
4
3
2
1
Task Completion
5
4
3
2
1
Attitude
5
4
3
2
1
Quality of work
5
4
3
2
1
Total Score
/25
Comments______________________________________________________________
Team Member #2____________________
Performance Criteria
Excellent
Good
Average Poor Unacceptable
Attendance
5
4
3
2
1
Contribution
5
4
3
2
1
Task Completion
5
4
3
2
1
Attitude
5
4
3
2
1
Quality of work
5
4
3
2
1
Total Score
/25
Comments______________________________________________________________
Team Member #3____________________
Performance Criteria
Excellent
Good
Average Poor Unacceptable
Attendance
5
4
3
2
1
Contribution
5
4
3
2
1
Task Completion
5
4
3
2
1
Attitude
5
4
3
2
1
Quality of work
5
4
3
2
1
Total Score
/25
Comments______________________________________________________________
Team Member #4____________________
Performance Criteria
Excellent
Good
Average Poor Unacceptable
Attendance
5
4
3
2
1
Contribution
5
4
3
2
1
Task Completion
5
4
3
2
1
Attitude
5
4
3
2
1
Quality of work
5
4
3
2
1
Total Score
/25
Comments______________________________________________________________
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